Former President Nicolas Sarkozy has caused an uproar in his conservative UMP party by saying he would repeal France’s same-sex marriage law if elected again in 2017.
Mr Sarkozy announced his plan at a UMP rally as he campaigned for the post of party president, the first step in his comeback after his defeat in 2012. The decision clearly came under pressure from party members opposed to same-sex marriage, who booed another candidate speaking before him when he said he would not repeal the law.
The law would be “rewritten from top to bottom”, Mr Sarkozy told the rally. As anti-gay marriage activists demanded he pledge to repeal it, he finally uttered the word “abrogate” that they wanted to hear.
Two other leading contenders, former allies Alain Juppé and François Fillon, and his 2012 election campaign spokeswoman criticised him for the announcement, saying the party could not afford to roll back what a majority of French voters see as a necessary reform.
The governing Socialists also denounced the idea and accused Mr Sarkozy of opportunism. But some leading UMP figures backed him.
Whether he wins or not, Mr Sarkozy’s position showed the anti-gay marriage movement, strongly supported by the Catholic Church when it took to the streets to oppose the law, now makes up a sizeable minority within France’s main conservative party.
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